Directors at architects firm Henry J Lyons take €1m pay hit

New consolidated accounts filed by Henry J Lyons (Architects) Ltd show that the group recorded a pre-tax loss of €135,269 as revenues declined by 18pc – or €6.6m – from €36.64m to €30.07m for the 12 months to the end of September.

The drop in revenues coincided with a sharp slowing down in Dublin’s office market, and An Bord Pleanála phasing out the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) system which boosted the group’s and other architectural firm’s revenues in recent years.

The pre-tax loss of €135,269 followed a pre-tax profit of €312,501 in the prior year – which is a negative swing of €447,770.

The firm is the designer of the new Clery’s Quarter, on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, along with the Central Bank HQ, on North Wall Quay, and the Google Flour Mills, at the Google Boland Mills Campus.

Other projects include One Molesworth Street and the Tropical Fruit Warehouse.

The 10 directors of the company own the firm and as business slowed down last year, they took a €1m pay hit as aggregate pay, including pension contributions, declined from €3.82m to €2.76m.

Directors’ emoluments reduced by €937,000 from €3.476m to €2.539m as pension contributions declined by €123,920 from €348,440 to €224,520.

Numbers employed at the firm also reduced by 28 from 303 to 275 as the number of architects reduced by 29 from 270 to 241, offset by an increase of one person employed in administration, with the figure rising to 34.

The directors say that “the trading results for the year and the financial position at year end were considered satisfactory by the directors”.

The group recorded a post-tax loss of €228,444 after incurring a corporation tax charge of €93,175. The loss last year takes account of non-cash amortisation and non-cash depreciation costs of €762,779.

The group’s net cash from operating activities last year totalled €720,985.

Accumulated profits totalled €6.6m while the group’s cash funds reduced from €10.95m to €9.48m.